Effective Presentation Skills: In-House Training In today's results-oriented, global working environment, the ability to create and deliver presentations effectively is a necessary skill set for people at all levels of an organization. Regardless of your role, it's important to know how to synthesize your ideas into a coherent and focused narrative, add visuals that support and reinforce your message, and deliver it in a way that resonates with your audience. In this highly interactive course, we will unpack and practice some of the tools and techniques used by top speakers and influencers all over the world. In this engaging two-day course, you will plan, write, refine, practice, and deliver a presentation to the class. Your presentation will be filmed on both days, and you will leave the course with a flash-drive copy of your videos; participants of the virtual classroom workshop should be prepared to present via webcam. In addition to discovering and enhancing your own personal delivery style, you will learn how to create an overarching goal for your presentation and then organize and structure it for maximum impact. You'll gain insight into how to anticipate your audience's needs and tailor the content and delivery in a way that connects with them and sustains their attention and engagement. You will also learn skills that will help you control nervous energy, remain focused on and attuned to your audience, improvise under pressure, deal effectively with questions, and build a compelling call to action. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Construct an effective presentation goal statement, opening, body, and closing that connect with an audience Analyze an audience's needs and style preferences, including relevant DiSC®-related elements Deliver a complete criteria-based presentation that will persuade others Align usage of visuals as well as verbal and non-verbal techniques to maximize the impact of your presentation Getting Started Introductions and social agreements Course structure Course goals and objectives Opening activities Planning and Organizing Video: 'The Art of Misdirection' Setting your presentation goal Writing a goal statement Analyzing your audience Applying the 'reality' test Creating and strengthening supports Structuring your presentation 5 components of an effective opening Presentation body Presentation closing Write your presentation opening Audience Analysis Video: 'How to Tie Your Shoes' Everything DiSC® introduction Audience DiSC® Styles Analyzing your audience Further audience analysis Effective Delivery Delivery challenges: virtual and in-person Keeping your audience engaged Your body as your instrument Verbal / paraverbal elements Body stance and nonverbal communication What are your 'tells?' Controlling nervousness Staying attuned to your audience Responding to questions Review and edit your opening Deliver your opening Visuals and Enriching Elements Using images in your presentation Guidelines for visual composition Using questions to engage your audience The power of the pause Practicing and Applying What You've Learned Preparation Delivery Feedback Opportunity to put into practice the program content and receive a video copy Summary and Next Steps What did we learn and how can we implement this in our work environment? Your personal action plan
Decision Making and Problem Solving: In-House Training We may live in an era of fast technology and increasing reliance upon automation, but our human abilities to think critically, make careful decisions, and solve nuanced problems are more important than ever. Our personal lives depend on those things, and so do the lives of our organizations. Since business is now conducted at remarkable speeds, we put our organizations at great risk daily when we have weak competencies with decision-making and problem-solving. Decisions and solutions that are executed impulsively and without structured approaches can create more problems or make existing ones worse! This course aims to help participants improve their skills so they can execute well and add value to the workplace. Learners will experience multiple decision-making and problem-solving models, tools, and techniques meant for the real world. They will learn how to align their growing toolboxes with the right situational contexts so that they can transfer that skill to the workplace. They will also discover how indecision, cognitive bias, and default thought processes can create obstacles to effective decision-making and problem-solving. What you will Learn Recognize the importance of making a sound decision in a timely manner Infer types of cognitive biases and obstacles that impact decision-making Separate facts, requirements, ideas, and perceptions when making a decision or solving problems Apply structured decision-making and problem-solving approaches Conduct cause and effect and Force Field analyses Evaluate alternative solution methods using various techniques Analyze real world situations to determine the best aligned decision-making and problem-solving models, tools, and techniques Implement decision-making and problem-solving models, tools, and techniques Foundation Concepts Contextualizing decisiveness and problem-solving Discriminating between decisiveness and problem-solving Understanding Decision-Making Decision-making challenges and impacts Key drivers of good decision-making Thought processes and obstacles Knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) Decision-Making Models and Supporting Tools Decision-making models, tools, and guidelines Tools to evaluate alternatives Translating requirements into action Problem-Solving Defining the problem Problem-solving models Cause and effect analysis Quick hit vs. innovative problem-solving Summary and Next Steps Course summary Personal action plan
Join the Scrum.org accredited Live Virtual Class - Professional Scrum Master 2 (PSM II). This is an advanced scrum master training course - designed for experienced Scrum Masters seeking professional growth. Course Description This advanced Professional Scrum Master (PSM II) qualification is designed to elevate you to a level of total Scrum mastery. Deepen your understanding of the Scrum framework and Agile practices while transforming your team into an Agile powerhouse. Gain the skills to teach Agile and support your organisation, regardless of your role. Whether you aim to lead Agile transformation within your organisation or progress your Agile career, this advanced Scrum mastery course is your ideal opportunity. Our Scrum.org certified advanced professional scrum master training course is delivered by industry experts with unrivalled interactivity. We combine real world experience with industry leading practicals that embed key principles. The PSM 2 course if focussed on developing practical skillsets and best practice implementation to achieve tangible results. Through these tried and tested learning techniques, Fractal Systems delivers a 98% first-time pass rate. Learn how to become an advanced Scrum Master: Understand how Scrum principles and values guide decision-making. Enhance servant-leadership abilities. Support Development Teams and Product Owners to improve effectiveness. Foster a conducive environment for successful Scrum Teams with greater agility. Gain tips and techniques for collaboration with the organisation. Improve overall organisational impact as a successful Scrum Master. Address team conflict and remove impediments. Communicate the significance of a "Done" Increment. Grasp how to support the Scrum Team and navigate middle management challenges. Why Train With Us? This immersive two day PSM II course prioritises your growth and success in the industry. We believe in hands-on learning experiences that deliver practical applications that are specific to your individual workplace challenges. This not only helps to frame key principles of an advanced Scrum Master but also enables you to have a more immediate impact in your role. The PSM II training course is led by our Scrum Trainers, all of which have real world industry experience. Gain a deep understanding of advanced Scrum theory, empower your Scrum teams with best practices and be supported by industry professionals throughout - from passing test to implementing learnings into your role. Who Should Attend This Course? The Professional Scrum Master II course is an advanced program tailored for experienced Scrum Masters with a deep understanding of the Scrum framework. We recommend this to individuals with at least one year of Scrum Master experience. Your Professional Scrum Trainer Meet Jay, the founder of Fractal Systems and an experienced Professional Scrum Trainer. With over 20 years in leadership and team roles, Jay excels in delivering practical value. He adopts an interactive teaching style, avoiding PowerPoint in favour of engaging, experience-based learning, using techniques from Liberating Structures and Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Jay specialises in business transformations, providing training, mentoring, coaching, and consulting to drive success through teamwork. For those pursuing the Professional Scrum Master II (PSM II) certification, Jay and the Fractal team are committed to supporting your learning journey with a range of valuable resources: Complimentary Scrum Resource Bundle Access to a PSM Exam Simulator Free PSM II Exam Coaching Sessions Personalised 1:1 Coaching At Fractal Systems, our goal is to ensure you have the support and resources needed for a successful PSM II learning experience. Our Clients Our Testimonials
Scrum Master and Product Owner Workshop: Virtual In-House Training This workshop builds on the specific roles and responsibilities of the Product Owner and Scrum Master in a Scrum environment, and how they need to work together as part of the Scrum methodology. During these sessions, you will explore who does what before, during, and after the Scrum Sprint cycles, as well as how to make the process work best in your specific Agile environment. You will come away from this workshop with a much deeper understanding of the roles and responsibilities so that individual performance improves on the job. Improved target results include providing focused leadership, making effective decisions, guiding Agile teams, and delivering business value. Foundation Concepts Agile History, Values, and Mindset Introduction to Scrum Scrum Events Scrum Artifacts Scrum Roles and Responsibilities Scrum Roles Product Owner Responsibilities Scrum Master Responsibilities The Scrum Team Responsibilities Cross-functional Teams Product Ownership Product Ownership Vision Understand Your Customers and Market Stakeholder Management and Engagement Product Backlog What is a User Story? Epics and User Stories Acceptance Criteria Preparing User Stories for a Sprint Definition of Ready (DoR) and Definition of Done (DoD) User Story Estimation Using Planning Poker Backlog Grooming Roadmaps, Story Maps, Impact Mapping Product Backlog Prioritization, MoSCoW, Kano Analysis Technical Debt The Sprint Team Capacity and Velocity Planning Sprint Planning Meeting and Sprint Plan The Sprint: Learning to Become Self-managing, Self-organizing, Self-improving Sprint Review Meeting Retrospectives Project Progress and Completion The Daily Scrum The Task Board and The Burndown Chart Information Radiators Closing a Scrum Project Summary and Next Steps Review of course goals, objectives, and content
Virtual Agile Teams: In-House Training Agile teams are a must in this world of intense competition, marketing demands, and changing expectations. Global virtual teaming has become a necessity as organizations become increasingly distributed, with suppliers and clients actively engaged in joint projects. Agile Teams now work across geographical, organizational, and cultural boundaries to deliver solutions and services to global users. Distance and differences may amplify the effect of issues and factors that are relatively straightforward for co-located Agile teams. This workshop delivers practical concepts and techniques that participants will start using immediately with their virtual Agile teams. The goal of the course is to enable you to successfully execute your preferred Agile or Scrum methods in a virtual project team environment. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Explain the characteristics of a virtual team and how they differ from a co-located team Build an effective virtual Agile team using a Team Charter approach Develop Release Plans, including prioritizing user stories, with a virtual Agile Team Construct a Sprint plan, including effective user story estimates, virtually Execute a Sprint, including essential Agile or Scrum ceremonies, virtually Conduct effective virtual meetings in an environment supportive of Agile and Scrum methods Foundation Concepts Agile Mindset and Values Agile Benefits and Methods Scrum Overview Co-located vs. Virtual Teams Forming Virtual Agile Teams Exploring Virtual Leadership Focusing on Virtual Agile Leaders Developing a Virtual Agile Team Charter Meeting Team Challenges in a Virtual Environment Planning Releases with a Virtual Agile Team Planning releases overview Estimating user stories Prioritizing user stories Setting release parameters Getting consensus on the release plan Planning a Sprint for a Virtual Project Sprint Planning Overview Confirming Sprint Scope with Virtual Agile Teams Developing a Sprint Delivery Plan for Virtual Agile Teams Running a Sprint in a Virtual Environment Self-organizing a Sprint for a Virtual Agile Team Using Scrum tools in a Virtual Environment Conducting End of Sprint Meetings in a Virtual Environment Iterating as a Virtual Agile Team Creating an Environment for Success Piloting a virtual Agile team Creating an Agile-friendly virtual environment
Building High-Performance Teams: In-House Training This course pulls together the most current and popular theories and writings on this complex topic and presents this amalgamated view in a highly interactive workshop and activity-based approach. Students will understand and have the skills required to build and participate in high-performance project teams and will possess the insight to proactively affect change within their respective organizations by guiding the existing culture to one that promotes high performance. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Define a team and describe the optimum team size for effective performance Describe characteristics and guiding behaviors of high-performance teams Describe the major elements of each development stage in two distinct models Recognize cultural barriers in achieving high performance List the attributes of a high-performing corporate culture Assess your own corporate culture Discuss corporate leadership as a factor in building high-performance project teams Describe the three A's of selecting team members State three leadership responsibilities Describe leadership responsibilities, styles, and roles List and describe the eight components of the team charter model for building high-performance teams Foundation Concepts The Nature of Teams Characteristics of High-Performance Teams Understanding Team Development Stages of Team Development - Model 1 Stages of Team Development - Model 2 Designing a High-Performance Culture Corporate Cultures Corporate Leadership Establishing the Attributes of High Performance Choosing the Right People Team Effectiveness Team Leadership The Team Charter Model
Facilitation Skills for Business Analysts: Virtual In-House Training This course is part of IIL's Business Analysis Certificate Program (BACP), a program designed to help prepare individuals pass the IIBA® Certification exam to become a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP™). Business analysts are communicators who bridge the gap between people with business needs and knowledge and the people who will provide solutions. Business analysts are continuously involved in communications with stakeholders and developers as they create the solution to business problems. They participate in information-gathering sessions including interviewing, joint requirements definition, and Joint Application Design (JAD) workshops which are used to streamline information gathering and get immediate validation from user representatives. The business analyst is also involved with negotiating the solution with the stakeholders, upper-level management, and the developers, mediating among the groups when disagreements take place, and influencing the results of decisions during the solution cycle. This course teaches the methods needed to organize and run information-gathering events. It combines the basics of graphic decision making and modeling with facilitation, communication, and meeting management skills. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Identify the major touch points between key BABOK® Guide knowledge areas and business analysis communication Describe the facilitation skills that are most supportive of those intersections Improve your ability to apply these skills in the context of your business analyst functions Foundation Concepts The role of the Business analyst (BA) An Introduction to the BABOK® Guide Business analyst roles and the product / project life cycle (PLC) Facilitation skills for the business analyst The BABOK® Guide and Communication An introduction to the communication process Addressing basic communications challenges Planning business analysis communication Communication and BABOK® Guide tasks Targeted Elicitation Techniques Synergy between communication and targeted elicitation techniques Preparing for elicitation Cornerstone targeted technique: interviews Other targeted elicitation techniques Related general communication skills Group Elicitation Techniques Synergy between requirements communication and group elicitation techniques Cornerstone group elicitation technique - requirements workshops Other group elicitation techniques Related general communication skills - meeting management best practices Related general communication skills - facilitating best practices Process / Model-Based Elicitation Techniques Synergy between requirements communication and process / model-based elicitation techniques Process / model-based elicitation techniques Related interpersonal skills - problem solving and decision making Investigative Elicitation Techniques Synergy between requirements communication and investigative elicitation techniques Cornerstone investigative elicitation technique - document analysis Other investigative elicitation techniques Summary of elicitation techniques by usage in the requirements process Using Presentations, Structured Walkthroughs, and Influencing Structured walkthroughs, presentations, and influencing within BABOK® Guide tasks Cornerstone technique - structured walkthroughs General communication skill - presenting Related interpersonal skill - influencing Special Facilitation Skills - Negotiating and Mediating Negotiating Mediating
Duration 2 Days 12 CPD hours This course is intended for This course is designed for people who need output from a database. In some cases, database programs have limited reporting tools, or tools that are not accessible. Learners may or may not have programming or SQL experience. Overview In this course, you will connect to a database to extract data and present it as a report. You will: Identify the elements of the Crystal Reports interface. Create and modify a basic report. Use formulas to calculate and filter data. Build a parameterized report. Group report data. Enhance a report. Create a report using data from an Excel workbook. Distribute data. In this course, students will create a basic report by connecting to a database and modifying the report's presentation. 1 - EXPLORING THE CRYSTAL REPORTS INTERFACE Topic A: Explore Crystal Reports Topic B: Use Crystal Reports Help Topic C: Customize Report Settings 2 - WORKING WITH REPORTS Topic A: Create a Report Topic B: Modify a Report Topic C: Display Specific Report Data Topic D: Work with Report Sections 3 - USING FORMULAS IN REPORTS Topic A: Create a Formula Topic B: Edit a Formula Topic C: Filter Data by Using a Formula Topic D: Work with Advanced Formulas and Functions Topic E: Handle Null Values 4 - BUILDING PARAMETERIZED REPORTS Topic A: Create a Parameter Field Topic B: Use a Range Parameter in a Report Topic C: Create a Prompt 5 - GROUPING REPORT DATA Topic A: Group Report Data Topic B: Modify a Group Report Topic C: Group by Using Parameters Topic D: Create a Parameterized Top N Report 6 - ENHANCING A REPORT Topic A: Format a Report Topic B: Insert Objects in a Report Topic C: Suppress Report Sections Topic D: Use Report Templates 7 - CREATING A REPORT FROM EXCEL DATA Topic A: Create a Report Based on Excel Data Topic B: Modify a Report Generated from Excel Data Topic C: Update Data in a Report Based on Excel Data 8 - DISTRIBUTING DATA Topic A: Export Data Topic B: Create Mailing Labels 9 - APPENDIX Appendix A: Setting Up and Configuring Data Sources Appendix B: Using Report Processing Techniques Appendix C: Using Functions in Formulas
Leading People through Change: In-House Training Research shows that 70% of change initiatives fail in large organizations. The largest factor contributing to this failure rate is leadership - the inability to plan and lead people through change. In many change situations, tremendous focus is put on strategy, processes, and systems, while the issue of changing people's behavior is assumed it will 'just happen'. In this interactive course, you will learn why the people side of change is crucial. We will begin by understanding why and how people resist change, and how important it is to become strong and effective change champions. Next, we will focus on critical change management practices - creating our vision of the future state, planning for acceptance in our change audience and stakeholders, mitigating threats, and capitalizing on opportunities. We will use metrics to plan, show progress, and confirm success. Lastly, we will focus on the need to reinforce and sustain change, and to prevent relapse to old ways and methods. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Realize the nature of change and describe how resistance manifests in people Compare prevalent change models and categorize their similarities Identify and rate the skills, traits, and behaviors of effective change champions Envision the future state and assess stakeholders Plan for change communication, training, and risks Evaluate change effectiveness using feedback and metrics Develop reinforcement practices for benefits and communication Foundation Concepts What is Change? Resistance to Change Common Change Management Theories Becoming a Change Champion Plan Envisioning the future state Planning for people Change management plan Do Change communication Training Piloting Risks Study Feedback Metrics Variance analysis Act Benefits realization Change sustainment Reinforcement messaging and communications
Agile techniques and management frameworks are changing the way organisations operate. Evolving to realise that organisations are no longer static and structured entities is the key to unlocking new ways to achieve better results. Agile can be utilised at an organisation, team, and project level. Transforming to an Agile way of working requires knowledge, commitment, and frameworks to lead change. The Applying Professional Scrum training teaches key implementation techniques and Scrum frameworks. Course Description Applying Professional Scrum Training ONLINE Getting results with the Scrum framework Scrum is the most used Agile framework for complex product development and project management. It is a proven system, in use for over 25 years by companies large and small. Scrum training introduces an iterative and incremental approach to product or project development – aiming to reduce complexity and achieve results faster. A Scrum team works simultaneously rather than sequentially, with more flexibility. Scrum teams learn to work better together, delivering more value for project stakeholders. Applying professional scrum training The Applying professional Scrum (APS) course introduces the Scrum framework and demonstrates its power over traditional approaches to project or product development. It is an interactive course that aims to familiarise participants with its iterative and 'Sprint' based methodology. The Scrum framework is commonly used in software development but is relevant in any industry or to any complex project. Course contents and key objectives The course will teach participants how to apply Professional Scrum and the Scrum framework. It is appropriate for anyone, whether or not they have previous exposure to Scrum. Contents of the two-day course include: Understanding more about Agile development and the value that an Agile mindset can bring. Explain how Scrum differs from traditional work models and the advantages this offers. Explain the details of the Scrum methodology and its practical application. Understand how to apply Scrum to projects and teamwork. This includes the concepts of the Scrum team, Sprints, Sprint reviews, and the Daily Scrum. Course attendees will work in Scrum teams to simulate a Scrum project. This will involve a series of 'sprints' to solve complex problems and demonstrate the Scrum approach's power. Such Sprints are key to the Scrum framework. They bring in the iterative way of working, giving teams the chance to review success and quickly adapt to meet business requirements. As part of this practical approach, participants will learn to recognize and understand common missteps and misunderstandings when using Scrum. Expected Outcomes from Applying professional scrum training Applying professional scrum training will teach attendees what Scrum is, the value it can deliver, and how to implement it. The practical and example-based nature of the course will help develop a thorough understanding of the Scrum framework. Experience is the key to implementing it in practice. As such, the course is designed to mimic this and teach the problems to look out for and their solution. Participants will emerge as proficient Scrum practitioners – ready to transform the development of their projects. Who Should Attend This Course? Scrum is beneficial for any company, or individual, with complex projects or products. This course provides an introduction and solid grounding in Scrum, enabling participants to work effectively within the Scrum team and to go on to further training if desired. It is ideal for anyone: Working in or joining a team that uses Scrum. Considering the use of Scrum or investigating its benefits. Working alongside or managing Scrum teams – even if not using the methodology directly. Your Professional Scrum Trainer Meet Jay, founder of Fractal Systems and a dedicated Professional Scrum Trainer. With over 20 years of experience in team and leadership roles, Jay is well-versed in delivering continuous value. His unique teaching approach involves zero PowerPoint and instead relies on engaging, experience-based sessions using techniques from Liberating Structures and Neuro Linguistic Programming. Jay's expertise lies in business transformations, offering training, mentoring, coaching, and consulting to foster success through collaborative efforts. Rapid learning and practical application are the hallmarks of his approach. Jay & the entire Fractal team are invested in your learning journey and are here to support you from start to end, including offering additional valuable support: Free practice assessments for certification success Free resource bundle to master Scrum Free exam revision sheets Free access to an exam simulator Free exam coaching sessions for first-time success Free 1:1 coaching to excel at work Our Clients Our Testimonials